Reflection: Sharon shared a reading from “Rediscovering Jesus: An Invitation” by Matthew Kelly.  The reading challenged us to consider the gap between our lives and the Gospel.  In spite of this gap, we need to remember that being Christian isn’t about being perfect.  We should strive to live the way Jesus invites us to live, and close the gap.
 
Members Present: Ruth Sanders for Mary Louise Chesley-Cora, Mary Beth Coté, Anita Delaney, Sharon Gidumal, Father Graney, Jim Murray for JoAnn Hedrick, Jody Maliga, Al Mercatante, Mike Mitchell, Wayne Bunting for Maritza Poza-Grise, Joe Quinn, Jack Sanders, Dick Schwer, Susan Sheahan, Patricia Szwed for Kathy Swain.
Members Absent: Deacon John Falkowski, Rich Mayes.
Guests: Linda Malm, Nancy Maloney.
 
Welcome Recently Elected Pastoral Council Members:  Mary Beth Coté (steward), Sharon Gidumal (steward), Jody Maliga (steward), Maritza Poza-Grise (trustee), Joe Quinn (steward), and Dick Schwer (trustee) were all welcomed after being elected to the Pastoral Council!  Contact information was verified during the meeting, and an updated list will be sent out to the Council members.
 
Minutes Approved:  Dick noted that Jody Maliga’s full name should be included in the Parish Buzz section.  Also, Mary Beth noted that “Ch” should be changed to “Christiana” in the report for Attracting New Parishioners, for clarity.  Dick moved to have the minutes approved, and Susan seconded.  The motion passed unanimously!
 
Old Business:
 
Committee reports/summaries were reviewed.  Below are the reports/summaries, with additional discussion in red.
 
Objective: Communicate more effectively to all parishioners about our Jesus-centered faith community
 
Improve Communications Team-Our objective is to improve communications within our parish.

• A Suggestion Box has been placed in the Gathering Space to solicit comments, ideas and constructive criticism from visitors and parishioners.
• The monitor in the Gathering Space is being used routinely to provide timely information about parish events, and opportunities to serve in ministries. A procedure to use the monitor is available in the parish office.
  • Welcoming Weekends were met with enthusiasm in February and May.
• Flocknote, a service that provides e-mail and texting communication (whichever mode is preferred by the recipient) has been tested successfully and adopted for routine use by several parish organizations. A presentation was given to pastoral council by the Flocknote coordinator of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish illustrating their positive experience. Parish groups are encouraged to adopt Flocknote for group communication. Info is available on www.Flocknote.com/resurrectionparish.

 
Joe noted that we need to determine the timing for the next Welcoming Committee- it should be in July/August, but that seems a bit soon.  He also mentioned that we need to appraise Flocknote, since the free trial ends in November.
 
Mary Beth commented that the use of the monitor after Mass was good.  She added that she would like to see the presentation for Social Concerns remain on the monitor for a couple of more weekends.  Father Graney liked the format of the presentation, and said that it’s good to keep a lot of details in the presentation, without expecting people to take all of it in at first glance.  Jim said that he saw the monitor as a potential distraction when trying to solicit people for Social Concerns.
 
Objective: Increase parish membership
 
Father Graney mentioned that there was no new report, and that the committee was currently following up on suggestions made earlier.  Susan shared that Rich is following up on zonage for a sign (on New Linden Hill Rd.)  Joe asked about a sign in front of the church, including Mass times.  Jim then asked if it was possible to occasionally put up temporary signs for the church.  Jack promised that he will talk to Matt Meyer, the New Castle County Executive, about signage for the church.  Jack noted that we would need the sign’s design before he could get approval from Matt Meyer.
 
A question came up about one of the ideas that had been brought up earlier to bring more people to church.  Father Graney said that it’s a matter of recruiting volunteers to help with legwork to put ideas into practice, rather than trying to come up with more ideas.
 
Objective: Improve visibility and presence of Parish Council in Parish community
 
Improve Pastoral Council Team-Our objective is to make the Pastoral Council more visible to the Parish community and to improve communication between the Parish and the Council.
 

• We have given Parish Council members nametags and they are encouraged to wear them after Mass to make them recognizable as a representative, and to encourage communication.
• We are encouraging parishioners to attend Parish Council meetings by announcing when the Parish Council meetings are in the bulletin and the announcements.
• We aim to improve the parishioners’ awareness of Parish Ministries by providing a display each month in the gathering space so people may ask questions and/or get involved.
• We are working with Lifetouch Family Photography to update the Parish Directory for the 50th Anniversary of the Parish (2019), and to make a mobile/online version available to parishioners who participate.  We are hoping that many will take advantage of this opportunity to update the Parish with photos and relevant information.

 
Kathy and Mary Louise were not present to present the committee’s update, and Mike was not prepared to add any comments to the written report that had already been shared with the Council.
 
Objective: Communicate, Increase Participation in Social Concerns
 
Here are the achievements of the "Improve and Grow Social Concerns" Committee of the Pastoral Council:
•     Revised the "Summary of Social Concerns" Volunteer Opportunities, updated for distribution to parishioners and contact information.
•     Sponsored a "Social Concerns Fair" to make parishioners aware of the wonderful social concerns/social justice activities that Resurrection sponsors and Resurrection volunteers support.
•     Initiated revision and update of the "Social Concerns" portion of the Resurrection website
 

Activities/Accomplishments:	Since your last Status Report, what have you accomplished on your Objective & Goals work?
Team worked with Staff and several volunteers to coordinate a “Social Concerns” Fair after all Masses over the weekend of June 9/10. Several agencies/activitites were represented A video with agencies/activities was created to be shown during the Social Concerns Fair.  A summary of the various volunteer opportunities as a bulletin insert for the weekend of June 9/10. There was a great engagement between the parishioners and the agencies during the Fair.
What overlaps do you see with the objectives and goals of other Teams?	In the course of doing your project work, please note any overlaps you see with other Objective Team goals.
The Committee to Improve Parish Council was a motivator for this event.

 

Challenges/Discoveries:	What did you do about the problems or challenges you encountered: actions taken, results achieved, people informed, etc.?
We want to find a way to get feedback from the agencies and from the participants to improve for the next Social Concerns Fair
Resources and Information Required: Do you envision a point where PC approval is needed prior to implementation of goals?	What additional resources or information do you require to continue to make progress? If so, from whom would you like assistance and for what actions?
The next effort is to update the website.  We will need to work with Resurrection staff to update the website.

 
Sharon reported on the Social Concerns Fair that was held this weekend.  Mary Beth and Jody both thought it was organized and well done, with the use of the table, providing of food, and the display for Friendship House.  Jim liked the blue insert that was included in the bulletin, telling people exactly what we do as a parish.  He added that such an insert should be included in the bulletin at least twice a year- at the start of summer and the start of fall.  Sharon noted that the event prompted conversations, and Jack noted that the Jesus House representative said that the event was productive for their group.
 
Wayne brought up the idea that Resurrection Parish volunteers could wear name tags including the name of the church when volunteering with outside organizations, as a way to start conversations about Resurrection Parish.  (For instance, a Meals on Wheels volunteer could wear a tag saying “Resurrection Parish” in addition to their name.)
 
Objective: Develop new parish model in absence of a resident parish priest
 
Dick reported that things are currently on hold for the New Parish Model Committee, and that activity currently resides with the search committee.  20 résumés/CVs have been received, with a meeting on June 11 ^th to go through those.  Dick noted that 6-8 of the applications looked good enough to conduct phone interviews.  The committee is developing an interview guide, with planned questions being geared toward personal experiences of the candidates, rather than hypothetical situations.  The plan is do phone interviews by the beginning of July, and then bring 2-3 candidates in for interviews at the parish.
 
Jack asked if the diocese would be involved with the interview process.  Dick replied that the diocese would get involved when the process was far enough along (interviews at parish.)  He also noted that a number of the candidates had a Master of Divinity or degree in theological studies, as well as background working in a parish.  Jim asked if any of the candidates were religious (as opposed to laypeople)- Dick answered that all the candidates were laypeople.  Joe asked if Skype could be used to interview people- Father Graney said that Skype could be used as a screening tool (it wouldn’t replace interviews at the parish.)
 
Update on audit requirement: Dick described that we are required to have an audit of the parish’s financial books.  He noted that the new bookkeeper, Tina, is doing a great job, and that things are ready to invoke the audit provision.  Dick also mentioned that Ed Collins would be consulted about taking a look at the current audit procedures and giving advice.
 
Charitable contributions: a question was raised about donating to Midwives for Haiti.  It was found on their website that one of the “medical supplies” that they request is condoms.  A number of people asked whether the parish could designate what our donation is used for.  Some questions were raised as to whether the condoms were “disease control” or birth control.  Father Graney promised to investigate the issues raised concerning this specific charity and to talk with the parishioner who had initially identified this charity about what can be done to continue helping the women in Haiti.
 
New Business:
 
Request Sign Up for Opening Reading and Reflection: A form was passed around, asking people to sign up to provide the opening reading/reflection for Parish Council meeting for the next year.
 
Annual July Pastoral Council Meeting and Picnic: Sharon volunteered to host the picnic meeting at 3 PM on July 8 ^th.  The social gathering starts after the meeting, and spouses are invited for the gathering.  When bringing food, it’s best to bring enough for 8-10 people.
 
Overview of Bylaws:  Dick gave a brief talk on the Bylaws, recommending that everyone read at least the first two pages.  He also highlighted a few of the more salient rules, such as the need to have a quorum of 12 for votes; and the importance of having an alternate cover an absence, since a Parish Council member cannot have more than 2 unexcused absences in a year, or 4 excused absences in a year.  Also, executive officers are elected in September to a 1-year term.  Additionally, we should be careful to follow our Bylaws, and make changes to them as needed, rather than simply ignoring them.  Dick added that based on the future parish model, the by-laws may need a lot of changing.  Jody asked about the Mission statement of the parish, and Father Graney said the Mission statement is posted on the wall of Meeting Room 4.
 
Father Graney noted that one concern that can arise with subcommittees is not being sure of whether someone else may already be working on something that the committee plans to take action on, or whether staff should be contacted before taking action.  Good communication is key.  Father Graney also mentioned that a pastor’s appointment is typically for 6 years in this diocese; after two 6-year appointments, he has been appointed on an annual basis.
 
Mary Beth suggested that it might be better to have Pastoral Council members blessed at the Mass that they normally attend, rather than requesting everyone to attend the same Mass for a single blessing.  Ensuing discussion brought up the fact that it has been done both ways in the past, and that having a single blessing is a way of emphasizing that the Pastoral Council is a group of people working together.
 
Jody moved to adjourn the meeting, Dick seconded, and the motion carried.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 PM.
 
Respectfully submitted, Mike Mitchell